In the Shade of Black and White: A Punisher Story
by Champignons525
Summary: After the death of his family, Frank Castle wants redemption. However, Frank's path will face many obstacles including the powerful Barini Family, Kingpin, and Jigsaw. Also, Frank is still traumatized by his experiences in The Jungle. Will he succeed?
1. Chapter 1: I'm Not a Killer

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Punisher and other licensed memorabilia. All characters portrayed were fictional and were not meant to be based off of real life indivduals. The Punisher, Kingpin, Jigsaw, Bullseye, and others are properties of Marvel Comics Inc. **

**In the Shade of Black and White: A Punisher Story**

"_Men are not punished for their sins, but by them."_

_-Elbert Hubbard_

As soon as the bullet flew itself into the flesh of Joe Providence, undercover DEA agent Frank Castle knew that this arrest was going to be messier than usual. As Frank dodged behind a corner, he heard a whiny voice screaming profanities with no end in sight.

"Fucking cop! I knew I couldn't trust your rat ass! I'm going to blow you to fucking pieces and feed your ashes to your whore back at home!" yelled the man as he feverishly pumped Ingram ammo into the cover that Frank was hiding behind. Eddie Barini was the rising star of the drug underworld, dishing out cocaine, speed, and heroin like they were Ferraris. "Fast Eddie B" was his nickname for taking care of drug deals with ease and efficiency.

It was ridiculous that Eddie had gotten this far without getting busted. DEA cops always seemed to cower in fear at the potential Eddie had of splitting their skulls wide open. Frank was no idiot though. There was an ultimate reason why DEA cops were so afraid of Eddie Barini, green paper.

By the looks of things, Eddie Barini was a scrawny kid with a loud mouth and a cocky, annoying, chauvinistic attitude. First impressions tell you everything and at first glance, Eddie looks like he could barely hold a gun. The main reason why DEA cops were afraid of Eddie was because of his mysterious benefactor, the Kingpin. Kingpin basically bought the entire city and gave Eddie the benefits he needed to run his drug business.

Frank knew it was time to send this place down to the pits. He volunteered himself to pose as an undercover drug lord even if it meant dying his hair a disgusting shade of red and gaining pounds at a rate that would make sumos blush in shame. For three months, Frank was Neal Grady, the smartest and meanest chief druggie in nearby Valleyville. Luckily for Frank, the red hair and 15 pounds did its job and fooled Eddie into tripping into a grave.

The meetings went well until this one. As Neal met Fast Eddie B on the Paragon #14 Dock, he noticed big Joe Providence with him holding a baseball bat and a Beretta, two tools of fun unless you were at the receiving end of both. Frank realized his cover was blown and he immediately opened fire at a charging Providence. Like a heavy barbell, the big mob enforcer fell to the ground with a thunderous crunch as Eddie looked on in horror, rage, and fear.

Now, Frank was dodging a myriad of Ingram bullets as openings for a clean shot at Fast Eddie B closed before a blink of an eye. Strangely enough, help was on the way. Not all the cops in the Paragon DEA were corrupt. Frank still had plenty of backup in the form of 50 cops ready to send the prince of drugs behind bars or in a casket. It all depended on the cooperation of Eddie and right now, it seemed like Eddie was going to need to find some pallbearers soon. Deep inside, Frank feared the same thing for himself.

Frank tensed himself as he felt the Glock slip into his hand as Eddie began to shout off more insults and profanities. It was all of only three things that determined life or death for Frank in these quagmires. You needed lady luck to be on your side for once rather than turning her back on you like a cheap hooker. You also needed timing since one slow move; one mistake could end up in getting your head blown off. The final thing was a lack of compassion. You needed to ruthlessly end this guy's life if necessary; no room for the faint of heart.

Frank released himself from vegetation and shot a crisp shot from his Glock into the heart of Eddie Barini's lungs. The prince toppled over and dropped his Ingram. Frank kicked aside the Ingram cruelly and prepared for the shakedown. He hated this part. There was no glory in standing over a victim as you pompously shot the life out of him with your Glock. You kept telling yourself you did it out of pity, that he was suffering in pain and you had the remedy. The fact was, you should have shot him in the head and saved yourself the shakedowns.

Eddie Barini was coughing up blood like a fountain as he gasped for air and flailed like a fish out of the water. Frank couldn't bother to take it anymore. He emptied one Glock bullet into his head to stop the nasty sight. Frank had seen his share of killing. Frank saw young men get blown to bits. The sight of Eddie Barini didn't faze him one bit. That didn't mean that Frank felt no guilt.

Frank walked over to the seemingly lifeless body of a homeless man with a bullet wound in his chest. As Frank reached over to find some sort of identification, the man suddenly grabbed Castle's arm.

"Don't let me die," he said weakly. "I didn't do anything."

"Don't worry. I'm not a killer."


	2. Chapter 2: No Parent Buries Their Child

"You did what you had to do. I don't see any problem with that at all," said a mellow, female voice. Samantha Ramirez partnered Castle for two years in the Paragon DEA.

Both Frank and Samantha stared at the lifeless body of Eddie Barini as two medical workers carted his corpse away. Frank's remorse ate at him like tigers over raw meat.

"Sam, Eddie was only 19. He could have done something with his life." Frank's husky voice covered his inner penitence.

"Are you kidding? Fast Eddie B suddenly changing his life around? Frank! Eddie was one of the top drug and arms dealers in Paragon. Not to mention that his dad is one of the biggest criminals this city has ever seen. Frank, he shot back at you."

"That's still no excuse. I'm not a killer of children."

"Frank! Think about your wife and kids! It was either Eddie's life or your own." Through closed eyes, Frank saw his beautiful wife Maria. He remembered the day when he first met her at Reginald Park, the tulips in full bloom. He recalled their wedding day and their honeymoon to Puerto Rico where the two consummated their love.

"Frank! Frank!" Frank snapped himself out of his stupor. Samantha stared back at him in a strange worry. "You okay?"

"Yeah."

"Well, Brock wants to see you." Samantha left promptly leaving Frank by the police cars that were still at the scene.

Brock Bones was a talkative DEA agent, another main agent with Sam and Frank. A young and scrawny type, he had a personality with an arrogance that would make roosters die of disgust.

Most of the time, Bones had a smile, whether it was smug or sincere. However, he was frowning now, a sight Frank hadn't seen in a long time.

"What the hell were you thinking!" yelled Brock in anger. "That's Vincenzo Barini's son! If he gets word of this, we're all going to be swimming with the goddamn fishes." Frank, extremely perturbed at Brock's confrontation, attempted to keep his emotions in check.

"Fast Eddie had me on the ropes. He could have killed me."

"You think just because you went to shoot a bunch of commies in Venezuela that you can blow everyone's head off? Frank, wake up! You're making us look bad! It's bad enough that you're dealing with your PTS by blowing us--"

At that moment, Frank delivered a swift but strong punch directly to Brock's face. Brock's mirrored sunglasses shattered and he fell to the ground in confusion, fear, and rage.

"I need a fucking vacation," muttered Frank as he walked away.

"WHAT!" cried out an angry voice that shook the large Barini House from its foundations. Vincenzo Barini, the patriarch of the Barini household, discovered the news that he dreaded since the day of the birth. Edward Jonathan Barini was dead, killed in a drug raid by DEA pigs. Vincenzo's wife, Livia Saint, sobbed uncontrollably and eventually fainted from exhaustion.

A few hours after Livia was rushed to the hospital, Vincenzo stared angrily at the Paragon skyline, a few miles away from the Barini Manor. Inside the large study room where Vincenzo did his dirty work were two associates. One was a balding man with mirrored sunglasses. He held a stoic expression as a sinister aura surrounded him. He was Quentin Glass, Vincenzo's long time confidant and right-hand man.

The other person was a young, thin, and confident looking person. He wore silver-rimmed sunglasses as he stared emotionless back at Vincenzo Barini. He was Johnny Barini, the other twin son of Vincenzo. The three of them began to deliberate among cigar smoke and booze.

"I want to find the bastard that did this. Not only did he kill one of my best friends, he killed my son!" Vincenzo howled in rage. Glass immediately took off his sunglasses and stared back at his close friend.

"Joe Providence was like a brother to me. I swear to you Vinnie, I'm going to find this motherfucker and feed him his brain while he is still living." Vincenzo glared.

"You can talk all you want Quentin but I want something to be done now!" Glass grinned.

"I know just where to start."


	3. Chapter 3: One More Favor

-1A car pulled into an abandoned alley where cats roamed like free men. The dimmed headlights sent the cats scattering as stepping out of the car was Brock Bones. The breezy air whistled eerily as Brock stared off, fear dripping off his face like ice water.

"Relax Bones, it's only me." Startled, Brock turned jerkily to see the solemn face of Quentin Glass.

"How many times am I supposed to tell you this Quint? I'm not with you guys anymore!" As Bones turned away, Quentin grabbed him firmly by the shoulder.

"Maybe a quick bite to eat will change your mind," suggested Glass with an unnerving nonchalance. Bones turned only to find the barrel of a handgun pointed at his forehead. Johnny Barini glared back at Bones through his shades.

"We're not asking you to do anything you fucking pig shit. Get your ass in the diner now." A coward as always, Bones backed away and walked into the nearby 24-hour diner up ahead.

After a quick meal of steak burgers, onion rings, chocolate malts, coffee, and cherry pie, Bones once again had to deal with the situation in front of him.

"What the hell do you guys want from me anyway?" asked Bones with extreme frustration. Glass sighed with contempt.

"Do I have to remind you how you got where you were? Remember that you were just a two-timing bum destined to eat meals from toilets before Vinnie offered to take up your sorry shit and make you respectable." Bones swallowed hard and subsequently took more drinks of coffee.

"I have a chick now. I got a house. I got respect. I don't want to do anymore favors." Bones downed the cup of coffee with a nervous speed. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm heading out." Bones hurried out of the door and opened the door to his car.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Bones looked around and saw Glass with Johnny again. Perturbed and frustrated, Bones charged back at the duo.

"Listen here you assholes! I'm not going to do anymore jobs so go please fuck yourself and leave me alone goddamnit!" Glass grinned and signaled Johnny to do something. Suddenly, Bones's car exploded into the air in a spire of fire, the columns lighting up the dull alley.

"Jesus! What the hell--" At that moment, Glass grabbed Brock by the collar and forcibly shoved him against a nearby brick wall.

"Now you listen to me!" threatened Glass, "I've been tired of your whining. You don't understand do you? We're not asking for a request. This is a goddamn order. If you're not going to hear me out, I'll gladly sell my secrets to the DEA. They'll throw your sorry carcass in jail and you'll get your little cherry ass ripped apart." Terrified of the blackmail, Bones began pleading for his life.

"Okay! Okay! I'll do anything you want! I swear just don't throw me in the dog pound!" Glass let go of Bones who promptly breathed a sigh of relief.

"I want some information on the murders of Eddie and Joe Providence," ordered Glass coldly. Bones nodded his head fearfully.


	4. Chapter 4: The Jungle

_The hot and humid Garzes Jungle swirled up a nauseous feeling in Frank as he choked on the foul-smelling air. His jungle army fatigues clung to his body like magnets and sweat poured down his face faster than rivers. He didn't want to be here, on another stupid and pointless patrol to find snipers. Les and Benton both got shot and killed yesterday, it was only a matter of time before Frank was next. _

_Suddenly the lead lieutenant signaled to Frank and the squad of 14 soldiers stopped in its tracks. Frank turned silently and approached his leader, a nervous but competent fellow named Ennis Bradley. _

_"Sergeant Castle, I'm ordering you to split up north and take your fork back to the jungle." Frank acknowledged the order and after Lieutenant Bradley split up the group, Frank led the new group of eight soldiers. _

_The new group cut through plants as Frank led the way through another path through the dangerous terrain. Frank knew the risks, Frank knew the dangers. His first day in the jungle, the soldier in front of Frank stepped on a landmine, turning him into chunks of raw meat. Shards of shrapnel cut Frank's skin. Another inch of thickness on the shrapnel and Frank would have been lamenting the loss of his left big toe, let alone other things. Luckily for him, all he got was a deep cut. _

_"Keep your eyes open," warned Frank, "there's no telling what's going to be underneath your feet." The other soldiers nodded slowly and fearfully to acknowledge Frank's warning. _

_Suddenly, a flash of a human running through the woods caught Frank's attention. _

_"Did you see that?" Frank asked another soldier. _

_"See what?" Frank shook his head and then motioned to a corporal. _

_"Keep these men in line. I'm going after something." _

_Charging through the jungle, Frank slowly yet aggressively sought out his potential target, the sniper that Lieutenant Bradley sent him to catch. It didn't take him long. _

_After a minute of dangerously sprinting through the jungle, Frank caught wind of a man struggling to catch his breath. Taking his time, Frank prepared to catch the victim off guard. _

_"One…" he said to himself, "two…" Frank then lunged out and pointed his rifle at a boy. The boy couldn't have been any older than 14 as he appeared to be around the height of a person in middle school. The boy screamed in terror and then came a flash out of the muzzle…_


	5. Chapter 5: Frank's Angel

Frank awoke in a sweat in the security of his own bedroom. His wife slept quietly to his left as Frank weakly arose from his bed. Touching his face, he noticed it was burning hot.

He turned to the bathroom where he splashed cold water to clear his senses. He looked back up at the mirror and saw Eddie Barini and the boy from the jungle standing in his bathroom, both of whom were grinning devilishly back at him.

The startling display of the two young men frightened Frank who screamed silently and tumbled down to the floor of the bathroom. His heart rate, which was beating the life out of Frank's inner body minutes ago, slowed to a more comfortable rate as Frank groaned in shame.

The bathroom door opened and through pained eyes, Frank saw his wife in a bed robe, her eyes, deep blue pools of concern.

"Frank?" she asked meekly. Frank turned away, too ashamed to stare back at his wife. Maria Castle knelt down beside her husband and wrapped her arms around him.

"Maria," Frank whispered, "please go back to sleep."

"Why? Frank, why are you doing this to yourself!" she asked him with insistence. Frank shook his head and got up with the strength that he could muster to walk and walked over to the bedroom window where the sun began to creep up slowly. Once again, Maria walked over and wrapped her arms around Frank's muscular chest.

"Maria please!" said Frank with pain and frustration. He pushed Maria's soft arms off his chest and went back to bed.

"No Frank! You've been suffering for too long! Why can't you see your blessings!" All the frustration that boiled inside Maria Castle finally released itself. "Frank, you are blessed. We are blessed with such a great family and you always fail to see that!" Maria collapsed onto the bed, her sobs disheartening Frank. To Frank, the situation was simple. He did not want his wife to share the misery in his incessant brooding.

"Maria, I…" Maria turned to face Frank. Her youthful face, her sapphire eyes, Frank was a fool for rejecting her faithful love, her submissive and patient compassion.

She was so beautiful. The tears in her eyes tore Frank apart. In his head, he chastised himself for dwelling on tragedy when his life was filled with everlasting boons.

"Maria, I'm sorry," said Frank slowly. "I--"

"Frank, it is okay," interjected Maria. "I understand why you struggle to enjoy your life. I just want you to be happy. I don't want you to languish so frequently that you fail to see the good things in your life. Think about your daughter, your son, think about me please." Frank fought back tears. Maria was the reason he didn't fall through the abyss. Maria was the reason he didn't swim in a lake of alcohol. Yet, why did he push her aside?


	6. Chapter 6: Billy Russo

-1A red Porsche pulled up in front of the large Barini Mansion. A valet immediately opened the door. Stepping out was a young, slender man with an extremely handsome face. Dressed out in a stylish black suit, he immediately turned to the valet.

"Get lost." As the valet left, the man turned to a woman in the car. She was a knockout in red, with curves in all the right places. It seemed only fitting that this goddess found herself with a modern-day Adonis.

"Billy, can I please follow you? They are my 'parents.'" Billy, the handsome man, promptly glared back at her.

"Are you deaf! I told you to stay in the car! This is business for men like me so just sit back in the car like I told you to," Billy replied with an extremely haughty voice. Glaring back at him with equal amounts of loathing, the voluptuous woman returned to the car.

Billy made his way to the enormous and elaborate foyer of the Barini Mansion where he scaled the dazzling white marble staircase that led to the office of Vincenzo Barini, his "father-in-law."

"Well if it ain't the Beau himself? How you been Billy? How's Vicki treating you?" asked Vincenzo. Billy grinned.

"She's up to her usual self. Stupid bitch won't listen to me anymore." Vincenzo chuckled.

"Slap her around a bit."

"I do!"

"Well you ain't doing it hard enough. Whenever she gave me and Livia a hard time, a few hard slaps across the face always shut her up." Vincenzo walked around the room to open his liquor cabinet. "Drink?"

"No thanks." Vincenzo locked the cabinet and collapsed into the chair. Meanwhile, Billy looked relatively annoyed with the situation.

"What do you want?" asked Billy with slight irritancy.

"You in a hurry or something?"

"Well what do you want?" Vincenzo sighed and opened up a drawer in his cherry desk.

"I was hoping we could get acquainted but I guess you want to go straight to the business." Vincenzo threw a large manila envelope in front of Billy. Billy opened the envelope to find three large photographs along with a "résumé" of sorts. Each of them were of Frank Castle.

"Who's this hero?"

"His name's Frank Castle. He's the one responsible for the deaths of Joe and Eddie. I want you to kill this son of a bitch."

"This numbskull killed Eddie?" Vincenzo nodded solemnly.

"How much you want?" Billy paused.

"If this guy killed Eddie, I'll gladly go pro bono on this one." Vincenzo smiled greedily.

"That's my boy."

"There's only one thing I'll ask for in return," said Billy. "I wouldn't mind having some company."

Just as Billy was about to leave, Livia Barini ran down the stairs to catch up with him.

"What did Vincenzo tell you to do?"

"Your husband wants me to find this guy named Frank Castle. I'm going to kill him." Billy turned to leave when Livia threw her arm at his shoulder. "What!"

"What about his family?" Livia asked with concern.

"Who cares? If they get in the crossfire, too bad for them."

"No, his family." Livia breathed heavily and stared back at her son-in-law with an unstoppable viciousness. "Kill them too."


	7. Chapter 7: The Massacre

-1The next morning, Frank walked onto the sunny lawn to play catch with his son, Frank Jr.

Frank Jr. was now 13 years old and a prime athlete, excelling in baseball, track, and basketball. Frank's firstborn was a remarkable kid, always selfless and working for the betterment for his mother.

For Frank, young boys always represented tragedies to him. His experiences in the jungle were a constant reminder of his dark past. However, Frank Jr. was another bright spot, another blessing that would never be taken away from him.

Frank's meltdown last evening prompted him to realize the gifts that God gave him. There was no need to dwell on events that were beyond Frank's control. They were events created by crazed bureaucrats and cowardly hawks. There was no need to chastise himself anymore. He had a family to take care of.

Losing focus, Frank suddenly woke up to reality when the baseball hit Frank in the head.

"Dad? What the heck are you doing?" Frank Jr. asked in bewilderment. Frank suddenly charged his son jokingly and attempted to hoist him into the air. With most men, this would have been a trying feat, but Frank's extremely impeccable health, strength, and stamina, made it relatively easy.

"You think that's funny! Throwing baseballs at your old man?" Frank joked as he flung his son across the lawn.

"Ow Dad! What was that for?" As Frank charged at his son again, Frank Jr. dodged it with ease and began to pour taunts faster than the force of Niagara Falls.

"You call that a charge Dad! Garth's grandmother could hit harder than you!" Frank Jr. ran around like a maniac before finally tripping over a root. As the younger Frank Castle tried to spit out roots, Frank finally caught up with him and threw him again into the ground, right in front of Maria Castle. With her hands on her hips and an irritated expression on her face, Maria walked over to settle the situation.

"What are you two doing?" asked Maria with false fury. "C'mon, let's get ready for the picnic." Frank suddenly swept Maria off her feet and into her arms causing his wife to scream and laugh at the same time. With his beautiful wife in his arms, Frank carried her into the kitchen where Frank's 10-year-old daughter Lisa was busy making sandwiches. After Frank set his wife down and gave her a long kiss, Lisa voiced her displeasure.

"Yuck!"

"What? Are you jealous of your mother?" Frank reached and hoisted his daughter into the air causing her to squeal in delight.

"Hey, put me down!" ordered Lisa amidst cries of laughter. Frank obeyed and set her daughter down by the sandwiches.

"So what did you make anyway?"

"Turkey, peanut butter and jelly, and grilled cheese. You like that dad?" Frank smiled.

"Like it? I love it Lisa!" Frank exclaimed giving her a kiss on the cheek. Maria was right, there was nothing better than having a great loving family. \

The Castle family got in the family car and drove off to have a wonderful day as a family, the first time in a while that the family was able to experience this.

As the silver van backed out of the Castle home, a sleek black car pulled up abruptly near the house. Inside were Brock Bones, Quentin Glass, Johnny Barini, Billy Russo, and four other goons.

"Yeah, this is his house," Bones said silently. Billy and Brock left the car and took out several gas cans.

"Follow that car. Don't let them out of your sight," said Billy ruthlessly.

They broke into the house and promptly flooded the place with as much gasoline as possible. Billy lit a cigarette before he was about to set the place on fire.

"You know Brock, the stupid thing about the suburbs in Paragon, they never come with home security systems, just a half-assed pig patrol," Billy said with arrogance as they walked out of the house. After finishing his cigarette, Billy chucked his lighter into the home, lighting up the Castle belongings in destructive liquid gold.

The tulips were in full bloom once again as Frank and his wife and kids walked happily into Reginald Park to enjoy a long-delayed picnic. There the family munched on sandwiches and began to play a fun game of badminton as an hour passed.

With Frank Jr. and Lisa running around to play a game of "I Spy," Frank rested himself on a rock near a pond filled with lily pads. Maria walked over and promptly rested against her husband.

"How are you?" she asked Frank lazily. The food coma was just beginning to set in.

"I'm doing fine, thanks to you." Maria smiled back at Frank.

"You remember the first time we met here?"

"How could I forget? That moment was the day when my past could finally leave me alone." Maria closed her eyes and sighed with content.

"I'm afraid Frank." Frank frowned.

"Of what?" Maria paused for a moment. A cool spring breeze captured both of them in an intimate moment.

"I had a dream. In that dream, you left us and you never returned. I don't want that to happen." Frank stared gloomily at the pond in front of him.

"I swear to you Maria," he began, "I will never abandon the children. And I would especially never leave you." The warm air soaked the two lovers in a comfortable ray of sunlight and Frank bent down to kiss his beautiful wife, the gentle caress of her soft lips bringing tears to his eyes. Maria in turn clung tighter to Frank's embrace.

"I know you will always protect us," Maria said softly.

Suddenly, multiple gunshots rattled through the air, catching the two in a sensation of fear.

"The kids!" Frank jumped away and lightly grabbed his wife in a frantic search for the kids. Frank ran as fast as legs could carry him through the park when he and his wife tripped over the body of a dead police officer.

"Dad!" called out a moderate whisper. "Dad! It's me Frank!" Stepping out of a nearby rock were Frank Jr. and Lisa.

"What the hell is going on?" Frank asked as he slipped the police officer's Beretta into his jeans.

"I don't know!" Frank Jr. rambled nervously. "These armed thugs dressed in black just came out of nowhere and started coming after me and Lisa. I ran as fast as I could and we hid behind these rocks when we saw one of them gun down this cop." Frank scanned the park for potential threats. As Lisa cried in panic, Frank turned to his wife.

"Maria, take the kids and go back to the house!" he ordered.

"Frank! You said you would never leave us!"

"Maria!" Frank began with more insistence. "These guys are probably after me. I need you to leave now so you will be safe. I can deal with this on my own."

"But Frank--"

"There's no time!" angrily interjected Frank. "Go now!" Wiping away tears, Maria simply nodded and gathered her children. Before she left, Frank grabbed her arm with force. "Maria, I love you. Never forget that." Crying uncontrollably, Maria hugged Frank and promptly sprinted for the parking lot.

Quickly arming himself with the Beretta, Frank pointed the gun to find the perpetrators. One leapt at him with a combat knife from behind several bushes. He was an extremely muscular man who subdued Frank with ease.

Trying hard to stab Frank, the man grunted and snorted as Frank pushed away his hand. Frank just barely got his Beretta and shot one bullet into his stomach. Groaning with pain and clutching the wound, the thug tried to lunge for Frank again but Frank shot him again in the leg.

"There he is!" called out a voice as a bunch of thugs in black sprinted after Frank. Realizing he stood little chance, Frank took off with the Beretta in his hand and made his way over to the parking lot of the park.

He noticed the silver van in the parking lot staring back at him with twisted humor. Frank frantically looked around for his wife and kids.

"Maria!" he cried out in vain. "Maria!"

"She's right here you fucking shit!" Frank turned around to see five thugs dressed in black. To his unimaginable horror, he saw his wife and two children kneeling down with their hands behind their head, their fates at the mercy of the cold and wicked killers in front of him. One of them, a balding man with mirrored sunglasses approached Castle slowly.

"Frank Castle,"

"What the fuck do you want?" The man promptly punched Castle across the face. Maria screamed and Lisa began to cry harder.

"Stop crying you little bitch!" threatened Johnny Barini as he pointed his gun closer to Lisa's face.

Quentin Glass continued to punch Frank across the face before Frank's face resembled oozed blood from his nose.

"Please…"

"What did you say?"

"Please… leave my family alone." Glass laughed. He then nodded over at Billy Russo. Billy's handsome face suddenly smiled as he cocked his Desert Eagle at Frank Jr.

Maria screamed.

Billy strutted confidently over to Lisa who cried uncontrollably.

"Please! I don't want to die!" she pleaded. Billy laughed with a sickening glee.

"Don't worry. It won't hurt." He emptied two shots into the head of Lisa Castle, a girl who was only 10 years old.

"You see that you fucking asshole!" Glass yelled as he held up Frank to see the brutal execution of his two children. Frank lamented in anguish as Billy slowly walked over to Maria Castle. Maria wailed and cried out for mercy as Billy began to toy with her, putting his gun in her mouth and spitting on her.

"Lady, get the hell out of my life." Before Billy squeezed the trigger, Frank stared through tearful eyes at his wife for the last time. He saw her beautiful eyes gleam back at him.

"I love you Frank." Billy squeezed the trigger and chuckled. The flash of the gun struck Frank's psyche like a bolt of cold lightning, the subsequent recoil thundering in his mind like a horrid note. Maria's body fell forward in slow motion, a grotesque dance, the life gradually fading in her beautiful face.

"Would have fucked her brains out if there was time." At those words, Frank immediately charged at Billy and knocked him to the ground. However, Johnny Barini grabbed Frank's physically and emotionally weakened body.

"Don't you even dare you fucking narc pig!" Johnny threw him to the ground and kicked him alternately in the gut and the spine, causing Frank to convulse and cough out blood. Grabbing Frank by the collar, Johnny mercilessly beat Frank to a pulp before his face was nothing but a bloody mask. At that moment, Johnny let Frank fall to the ground in agony.

Despite the beating, nothing pained him more than the sight of his wife and kids lying on the ground, their life brutally taken away from them by a man who arrogantly sneered back at Frank.

Glass grabbed a cooler of beer and together, the goons toasted over a disturbing occasion. To them, another assassination meant more paychecks, more partying, more booze, and more women. There was plenty of alcohol for other things.

"You like beer, dip shit?" asked Johnny with a nauseating mockery. "Drink up before you overheat!" The goons poured alcohol all over the Castle family as they walked over to the nearby black car. Using the strength that he still had, Castle painfully arched his neck to see Billy lighting a match and flicking onto the ground.

"Adieu Castle."


	8. Chapter 8: Enter Kingpin

-1"So did you get rid of him?" asked a shadowy voice. Vincenzo Barini found himself in the heavily guarded lair of his most powerful ally, the undisputed czar of the Paragon crime world, the enigmatic and commanding individual known only as the Kingpin to outsiders.

Despite their durable partnership in vice, Vincenzo never saw the Kingpin in person. He never knew who he was, how he looked like, what his name was; Vincenzo didn't even know what liquor the man liked to drink. The only thing Vincenzo knew was that his nickname seemed to match the character in his authoritative personality, and his enormous physique.

And even in the lion's den, shadows seemed to obscure even the slightest details of the man's face. Vincenzo didn't care though. Kingpin was Vincenzo's way to get his way out of sticky situations. Nobody and nothing, not cops, not the courts, not the mayor, not even "weapons of mass destruction" could stop the Kingpin.

"Yeah, I took care of Castle." Despite the difficulty in determining the facial expressions of his "ally," Vincenzo swore to the gods that he could see a large smile.

"Good. I certainly miss the business I did with your son. I'm glad that my city is free of another insect like this Frank Castle moron," replied Kingpin in a dangerously robust voice. Kingpin took a puff of a large cigar, blowing out smoke with a haughty delight. "What else do you want Vinnie?"

"I want protection for my guys. I don't want the cops snooping their noses into my business, my vendettas." Kingpin swallowed a considerable amount of liquor, calmly tapping the glass onto the desk below his arm.

"Deal."


	9. Chapter 9: Blind Vengeance

-1**_Five Months Later_**

Frank didn't know how or why he survived. All he remembers were the flames consuming his body with torturous lethargy before he passed out. The next thing he knew, he was under the care of the same homeless man that he saved back in the docks.

He wished he was dead. He had nothing to live for now. After all, in Frank's shattered remains of a mind, he believed he deserved to die for breaking the promise he made to his family.

Frank Jr. would never get the opportunity to become a high school student. Frank Jr. was deprived of a chance to enjoy the tumultuous high school times. Lisa Castle would never kiss boys, she would never go to middle school sleepovers. More importantly, both of them would never find the happy ending to their lives.

Worst of all, Frank had to live with the fact that Maria Castle, née Castiglione, his guardian of sanity, his beautiful and patient redeemer, ceased to exist in the real world. Frank would never again touch her beautiful face, caress her warm lips.

Frank's recovery from his "death" painfully finished off itself. With his possessions all razed to the ground with the Castle family home, Frank barricaded himself in a motel room, drinking himself to oblivion with hard liquor. Each night, Frank watched the news, hoping to see the murderers find themselves isolated in the bitter, hopeless, and painful surroundings of prison bars.

It never happened.

None of the men responsible for their crimes ever spent a second in prison. In fact, the media seemed to ignore the Castle family massacre. There were more important things going on; terrorism, soaring gas prices, the odds of the Paragon Lions winning the World Series, these were more important than the deaths of three innocent people.

Frank was a ghost. He was condemned to spend his "afterlife" in an earth that didn't even acknowledge his weakening presence, his overwhelming rage, his demonic pain, his iniquitous suffering.

A commercial sponsored by Fisk Industries suddenly spat out company nonsense while Frank fought his demons. The vociferously bright colors and flawlessly cheesy music displayed an inadvertent but stinging slap of mockery to Frank's internal torment. In severe infuriation, Frank smashed his lone bottle of whiskey against his motel door, the colorless contents speeding down the door, racing against the tear streaks down Frank's face.

Something had to be done.

With a temporary purpose in his life, Frank walked inconspicuously into a weapons store, a small bit of crisp, dead presidents in his pockets. The gruff-looking owner of the store quickly eyed Castle with suspicion but eventually let the situation go.

Frank took what he could afford; a Kevlar vest, the same Glock handgun he used in the DEA, two Beretta handguns, and ammunition for all three guns. Together, this arsenal could pack a punch in a controlled situation. Frank wasn't diving into the kiddie pool though, he was jumping down Niagara Falls.

Through some undercover "research," Frank noticed that two of his targets frequented the rambunctious, blinding, and crazed night club known as 74. It was time to start the suicide by running in like Rambo and sending all the goonies in there to give Satan fellatio.

Suiting up the Kevlar vest, Frank prepped all of his tools of massacre and attached them to the vest. There was no need for concealment, stealth was not a luxury that Frank could use for his mission.

He was now ready.


End file.
